If you are visiting Cachet Supper Club this summer, you may be served by Olha Zharii or her younger sister, Anastasiia Havriluk. The pair have been working there since they arrived in Canada after fleeing from the war in Ukraine.
Zharii, 28, and Havriluk, 22, were staying with their parents in Irpin, not far from Kiev on Feb. 24 when they woke up to news that the war had started.
“I just opened the window in my room and I heard the sound,” Zharii said “OK, it’s really started.”
In those first days they decided to stay in Irpin.
“You don’t know if it’s safe to drive or safer to stay home,” Havriluk said.
At first, it wasn't so bad where they were. Zharii said the city was calm but she could hear things and see bombs and planes overhead when she was out walking her dog. However, when bridges started getting destoryed, the family realized they needed to leave as that was their only way out.
They went to stay with their grandparents in another region of Ukraine. There were at least 10 people in the house for two or three weeks, the sisters said.
The calm days in Irpin didn't last and eventually the city was hit hard by Russian bombing.
“When we left Irpin, just a few days after there was no way to live in it,” Havriluk said.
Zharii described their hometown as a “black burnt place.” She spoke about buildings that were ruined, piles of rubble in the street, and houses that are unlivable.
“Everything in our neighbourhood, it’s just destroyed so it doesn’t look like home,” she said.
However, their family home was relatively unscathed and their parents opted to return there, where they remain now. When asked if it was safe for them to be there, Zharii said, “You never know. There is no safe place right now.”
“Today it’s OK but tomorrow is it going to be bombed? Like 50-50," Havriluk said.
The sisters said it was their parents' idea for them to leave Ukraine and they agreed because they didn't want them to worry. They spent a month in Czech Republic working on the paperwork to come to Canada, went back to Ukraine for two weeks to finalize some details, and then came to Canada, arriving in the middle of May.
They are staying with a host family who Zharii said was "such an incredible family here in East Gwillimbury, Ryan and Heather. This is such incredible people."
It was Heather who told them that Cachet was a great place in Newmarket, so the sisters biked down on the trail and came to the restaurant to see if they were hiring. That's when they met owner Jennifer McLachlan.
"The luxury and the curse of being an entrepreneur, a business owner, is hiring and building a team," she said.
The team she has built is diverse, she said. Already she had two employees who are refugees from Afghanistan and another newcomer who came to Canada from Ukraine. She also aims to provide employment opportunities to those in "urgent need."
"If I can help somebody that's an urgent need, where as opposed to somebody just looking for a job... I was going to go out on purpose and find people that needed a job," MacLachlan said.
Zharii and Havriluk, who have been working as servers since the end of May, ride their bikes from East Gwillimbury to get to work. Despite the situation they are facing, MacLachlan said they are so positive and always kind.
"From my perspective, I would imagine it's been very challenging for them, but they're pulling it off flawlessly," she said. "Just because people aren't being kind to them or their families right now isn't stopping them from being kind to other people, which is phenomenal."
Cachet isn't the only local business where Ukrainian newcomers have joined the staff. Up the road on Main Street, Tom Zielinski, owner of BikeSports, has hired a refugee and Curtis Vickers, president of Southlake Ford, has two Ukrainian newcomers on his team.
He said Newmarket resident Kevin Clare, who got involved hosting Ukrainians early on, is a client of the dealership and he was inspired by how he was stepping up to help. Vickers said he wanted to offer his support in some way, too.
"It was just 'what can I do to help' and as it turned out there, once they kind of got all their papers and everything in order, there were a couple that were looking for employment," he said.
Vickers hired two of the young men Clare was hosting, who are working in his service department. He said they have settled in well and the team has been really welcoming.
"They were sensitive to the fact that these are young men in a brand new country, but I mean, really, it's them. They're unbelievably positive, bright, young kids and they've integrated well," he said.
Vickers said he hopes other businesses in town are lending a hand where they can as well to Ukrainian newcomers.
"They're just good young kids who are in an incomprehensible situation and if we and other businesses can help, then I think we should," he said.
For Zharii and Havriluk, their ultimate hope is that they can return to Ukraine and the war will end.
“We are going to win this war because we don’t have any other option, we have to win this war," Zharii said.
Havriluk said when everything is over it will take time to rebuild but “we’re ready for this. When we win, we will rebuild everything even better.”
Until then, the sisters said they want people to keep talking about what's happening in Ukraine. They said they are worried that people are losing interest.
“When there was court between Johnny Depp and Amber, it was like the war ended,” Havriluk said, referencing another recent news story that she said took people's attention away from the situation in their country.
It's not just about talking, but also showing support, donating, and governments sending supplies to help the Ukrainian people and military, Zharii said.
“It's so important to tell people about it. It’s so important to remember the war in Ukraine because it has not stopped. It’s just continued and become worse and worse,” she said.
